Newsletter - Feb 2017

NOW ONLINE: 2017 BERLINALE TALENTS PROGRAMME

It’s time to show “Courage: Against All Odds.” In just a matter of days, Berlinale Talents will turn HAU Hebbel am Ufer into a beehive of activity for 250 promising filmmakers and over 100 seasoned experts from all over the world. Our programme of 30 public events from February 11-16 is now online! Browse through our events and see ticket details here.

This year’s focus on “Courage: Against All Odds” couldn’t be more timely. While segregation is on the rise elsewhere, the Berlinale stands in solidarity with all those who share our beliefs of cultural respect and openness to diversity. Together we’re stronger and more creative – in film, at the festival and also in life. Read more in an interview with Berlinale Talents heads Christine Tröstrum and Florian Weghornhere.

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

We’re looking forward to welcoming countless luminaries from the film world and beyond to our discussions, workshops and screenings. The public summit will feature talks by members of the International Jury of the 67th Berlinale: Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, American actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. They’ll be joined by Bulgarian-American artist Christo and a whole slew of remarkable women directors: award-winning Polish director Agnieszka Holland, British arthouse favourite Sally Potter, prolific Spanish director Isabel Coixet, American indie darling and Talents alumna Ana Lily Amirpour and British director Gurinder Chadha. Several talks will focus on documentaries, with experts such as German director Andres Veiel, Brazilian documentarian João Moreira Salles and Oscar-nominated Haitian director Raoul Peck. Other events include a case study of the hit spy series Berlin Station, a discussion with Irish filmmaker and artist David OReilly, and talks focusing on editing, sound, world building, funding, film criticism, community cinemas and a theatrical take on virtual reality. Get tickets while you can!

This programme was made possible with the kind support of our sponsors, and especially our long-term partners: Creative Europe MEDIA, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and in particular Prof. Monika Grütters, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. We welcome ARRI as a new Co-Partner alongside the Federal Foreign Office, the German Film Fund and Nespresso. Heartfelt thanks to you all!

BACK FOR GOOD: ALUMNI FILM SCREENINGS

This year, 131 Talents alumni return to the Berlinale festival to present 93 films. Out of these, four features and a selection of shorts will also be shown in public screenings at HAU1, followed by crew Q&As. Christiane Steiner, who curated the films for Berlinale Talents, says: “It’s a special pleasure that among these various outstanding films several participated in our Project Labs – The Wound at the 2014 Script Station, Rifle at the 2015 Talent Project Market and Estiu 1993 at the 2015 Script Station and 2016 Talent Project Market.” They also aptly illustrate this year’s theme, she adds: “Whether depicting the taboo of gay love in rural Africa or a girl losing her mother and finding her place in a new family, these films show courage in many facets.”

SNEAK PEAK: PROJECT LABS PRESENTATIONS

In our Project Labs, 30 selected Talents work on their new fiction, documentary and short films before presenting their material to producers, financiers and distributors. Be sure to mark your calendar for the Project Labs Presentations on February 15 to get an exclusive first glance at innovative new projects that will hit the screens in the coming season.

KICKSTARTING YOUR PROJECTS

Our partners at Kickstarter support our alumni community with campaign support, mentorship, online engagement sessions and a dedicated Berlinale Talents page. One recent successful campaign was Bruce LaBruce’s The Misandrists, produced by Jürgen Brüning and Berlinale Talents alumnae Sonja Klümper and Paula Alamillo, who both run Amard Bird Films in Berlin. The campaign raised €27,000 on Kickstarter, and the finished film will premiere at Berlinale Panorama this year. Asked about the campaign, Sonja explains: “The film is about a secret cell of feminist terrorists, so we devised a campaign pretending that director Bruce LaBruce had been abducted, with ransom notes and a countdown to his release.” As for crowdfunding advice, she adds: “The Kickstarter campaign created a lot of interest in our film. But it’s hard work too – solid preparation, a clear strategy on how to reach people, and regular news and updates are crucial. The Kickstarter team was incredibly supportive in helping us to develop the campaign and guiding us along the way.”

Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, with the support of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Federal Foreign Office and the German Federal Film Board.